Device for simplifying the positioning of heating elements in a glass ceramic cooking hob

Abstract: A device for simplifying the positioning of heating elements (11), such as halogen lamps (11B), electrical resistance elements (11A) and the like associated with corresponding reflecting and containing elements (11C) in a glass ceramic cooking hob (1) comprises a spacing member (15) arranged to cooperate with said reflecting and containing element (11C) and comprising portions (25) for cooperating with corresponding seats (26) provided in predefined positions within the cooking hob, any heating element (11) being able to be positioned at a distance from the edges of the cooking hob (1) by connecting said spacing member (15) to the corresponding seats (26).

Description: This invention relates to a device in accordance with the introduction to the main claim. EP-A-0108916 discloses a plan ceramic cooking hob comprising heating elements associated with corresponding reflecting and containing elements and a spacing member arranged to cooperate with the reflecting and containing elements. The spacing member is interposed between one side of the cooking hob and the heating element. In a glass ceramic cooking hob the heating elements have knowingly to be positioned at a predetermined distance from its lateral edges. The reason for this is to give the cooking hob a pleasing appearance during use and to standardize and simplify the production of such hobs as much as possible. In this respect it should be noted that the upper glass ceramic resting surface is often provided with markings indicating the position of each heating element. It is therefore absolutely necessary during assembly to make the heating element correspond with the corresponding predefined position on the glass ceramic surface. Faced with these problems, it is necessary to be able easily and quickly to assemble the heating elements such as to achieve the desired correspondence between the markings already provided on the cooking hob and said elements, in order not to impair the pleasing appearance of a glass ceramic hob by imperfect assembly of the heating elements, and not to compel the user to "seek" on the glass ceramic resting surface the exact position in which to place a food container (such as a saucepan) during food preparation in order to achieve correspondence with the particular heating element should this not be located below the relative markings. Various methods are known for achieving the desired "centering" between each heating element and the corresponding markings on the glass ceramic cooking hob. However these methods all require care on the part of the operator assembling the cooking hob and are not error-proof, so that the desired alignment between the markings on the cooking hob and the relative heating element is not always obtained. This therefore means that the aforesaid optimum assembly requirements are not satisfied, leading to undesirable results. An object of the present invention is to provide a device which allows simple and optimum positioning of any heating element in a glass ceramic cooking hob. A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the aforesaid type by which any heating element can be mounted in such a manner as to achieve perfect alignment between it and the usual (corresponding) markings present on the upper resting surface of the cooking hob. A further object is to provide a device of simple construction and low cost which enables the production time for a glass ceramic cooking hob to be shortened, with consequent cost reduction. These and further objects which will be apparent to the expert of the art are attained by a device in accordance with the independent claim and the other accompanying claims. The present invention will be more apparent from the accompanying drawing, which is provided by way of non-limiting example and in which: Figure 1 is a view from below of a glass ceramic cooking hob according to the invention, with certain parts removed for greater clarity; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a part of the device according to the invention, viewed from above the cooking hob; Figure 3 is a perspective exploded view of part of the hob of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a top view of that part of the hob shown in Figure 3, with the various elements already assembled; and Figure 5 is an exploded view of a cooking hob provided with the device according to the invention. With reference to the said figures, a cooking hob is indicated overall by 1 and comprises (see specifically Figure 5) an upper glass ceramic resting surface 2 provided with markings 3 indicating various heating regions, and usual knobs 5 (only one of which is shown in Figure 5). The surface 2 is connected in known manner to a peripheral frame 6 to which a usual seal element 7 is fixed. A base 8 is associated in any known manner with the frame 6 to define a compartment 10 in which usual heating elements 11 (such as resistance elements 11A and halogen lamps 11B associated with usual reflecting and containing elements 11C) are positioned. The hob 1 also comprises usual connection members 13 between each knob 5 and a known member 12 for feeding electrical power to the heating elements 11. According to the invention, with each heating element 11 there is associated a spacing member or spacer 15 arranged to cooperate with walls 16 of the frame 6 (or alternatively with walls 17 of the base 8) so as to maintain the element 11 (whatever its size or diameter D - see Figure 4) at a predetermined distance from said walls. Specifically, the spacer 15 comprises a body 20 having a substantially flat portion 21 arranged to cooperate with the heating element and provided with holes 33 for receiving screws 23 for its fixing to said element. The portion 21 comprises bent ends 25 to slidingly cooperate with seats 26 provided on the walls 16 of the frame 6 and defined by opposing substantially L-shaped elements 27 projecting from said walls. This cooperation is in the form of an interference fit so that the spacer 15 is retained rigid with the frame 6. To assure this retention, the ends 25 are provided with projections 28 which cooperate with holes 29 provided in the wall 16 at the relative seat 26. The spacer also comprises a part 30 bent substantially to L shape. This part comprises a portion 31, associated with the portion 21, and a bent end portion 35 with a hole 36. The portion 35 is arranged to support (in the hole 36) a usual visual indicator element (not shown) which indicates whether the relative element 11 is in operation or not. The spacer 15 is preferably of blanked and bent sheet metal, is light in weight and is easy to position within the compartment 10 of the cooking hob. Each heating element 11 is therefore more simple to mount and correspondence between the markings 3 on the surface 2 and the elements 11 is assured. In this respect, the seats 26 are formed such that each spacer becomes positioned at a predetermined distance from a corresponding corner 40 (see Figures 1 and 2) of the frame 6. In this manner an element 11 when associated with the spacer has its lateral edge or lateral wall 50 (see Figure 4) located at a fixed distance from said corner, whatever the dimension D of said element (as can be seen in Figure 4). Consequently, by providing the markings 3 in suitable positions on the surface 2, correspondence between each heating element and the relative heating region is ensured.

Claims: Glass ceramic cooking hob comprising heating elements (11) associated with corresponding reflecting and containing elements (11c) and a spacing member (15) arranged to cooperate with said reflecting and containing elements (11c), characterized in that the spacing member (15) comprises portions (25) for cooperating with a structural part (6, 8) of the cooking hob in corner regions thereof, any heating element (11) being able to be positioned at a predetermined distance from the edges of the cooking hob (1) by connecting said spacing member (15) to said structural part (6, 8). A cooking hob as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the spacing member is in the form of a body (20) comprising a part (21) arranged to cooperate directly with a corresponding heating element (11) and to be fixed to this latter, said portion (21) having bent ends defining those portions (25) for cooperating with the structural part (6, 8) of the cooking hob (1). A cooking hob as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that with the part (21) arranged to cooperate with the heating element (11) there is associated a portion (30) for supporting a usual indicator indicating whether said element is in operation. A cooking hob as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the portion (30) supporting the indicator indicating whether the heating element (11) is in operation is substantially of L-shape. A cooking hob as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the bent ends (25) of that part (21) of the spacing member (15) cooperating with the corresponding heating element comprise projections (28) arranged to cooperate with corresponding parts (29) of seats (26) which receive said bent ends and are provided on that structural part (6, 8) of the cooking hob with which said member (15) cooperates. A cooking hob as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that each seat (26) for the bent portions or ends (25) of the spacing member (15) is defined by elements (27) projecting from a wall (16, 17) of a part (6, 8) defining the cooking hob (1). A cooking hob as claimed in claim 6, characterised in that the elements (27) defining each seat (26) for the bent ends (25) of the spacing member are substantially of L-shape and are arranged facing each other. A cooking hob as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that the spacing member (15) cooperates with a wall (16) of a frame (6) supporting the glass ceramic surface (2). A cooking hob as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the spacing member (15) cooperates with a wall (17) of a closure element (8) of the frame (6) supporting the glass ceramic surface (2).

Inventors: DISTASO ALESSANDRO, DISTASO, ALESSANDRO, DISTASO, ALESSANDRO, C/O WIRLPOOL ITALIA S.R.L.
Applicants: WHIRLPOOL EUROP, WHIRLPOOL EUROPE B.V.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: F24C15
IPC codes: F24C15, H05B3